Juan Soto has lived up to the superstar billing that accompanied him when he was acquired in an offseason trade with the Padres. And for that reason, his presence in the middle of the Yankees' lineup is crucial.
That's why fans are likely holding their collective breath after the superstar outfielder exited Thursday's game against the Twins early with an injury.
Teammate Aaron Judge is the only player in baseball with a higher Fangraphs Wins Above Replacement (fWAR) than Soto, who has 4.0. He is tied with Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., while Judge leads the majors at 4.2.
Here's the latest on Soto's injury.
MORE: Yankees vs. Twins updates, highlights
Juan Soto injury updates
The Yankees superstar outfielder was pulled before the top of the sixth with left forearm tightness, the team announced.
Left forearm tightness generally sets off some alarm bells for pitchers as it has often been a precursor to Tommy John surgery. The same is certainly not always the case for position players, who throw the ball significantly less.
Aaron Boone told reporters after the game Soto had been dealing with left arm discomfort for the past week, and that he'll undergo imaging on it on Friday, according to The Athletic's Chris Kirschner.
New York received a positive update from those results, diagnosing Soto with left forearm "inflammation."
Boone said he expected Soto to avoid the IL and could be available during their series against the Dodgers this weekend.
"In the grand scheme of things, we got some good news," Boone told the media.
Soto has been an AL MVP candidate this season. His .318 batting average leads the AL and his .424 on-base percentage leads the majors. He also has 17 home runs, 53 RBI and four stolen bases.
